U.S.-India Nuclear Deal Overlooks Clean Energy Options

WASHINGTON, D.C.--The security risks from the
nuclear cooperation agreement reached March 2, between President Bush
and Indian PrimeMinister Manmohan Singh far outweigh the energy
benefits of the deal, according to researchers at the Worldwatch
Institute. Spending the same money on new, clean energy options would
provide energy without increasing the risk that terrorists will get
their hands on nucleararsenals.

Proponents claim
that nuclear power will be India's ticket to economic prosperity in this
energy-starved country of 1.1 billion people. But according to
Worldwatch's State of the World 2006 report, "Renewable energy
resources such as solar, wind, and biomass are far more practical energy
options for China and India. Both countries have vast land areas that
contain a large dispersed and diverse portfolio of renewable
energy sources that are attracting foreign and domestic investment as
well as political interest."

courtesy World Watch Institute

Nuclear power
provides only three percent of India's electricity today, and even if the 30
new nuclear plants the government hopes to build are actually completed
over the next two decades (India has consistently fallen short on its
past nuclear ambition), nuclear would still provide only five percent of
the country's electricity and two percent of its total energy.

"It
would be ironic if Congress were to support this agreement, given the
scrutiny that has been given to the Dubai ports deal," said Worldwatch
President Christopher Flavin. "The security vulnerabilities that would
be exposed by undermining non-proliferation at a critical time are
unacceptable. It's going to be tough to argue that Iran and North Korea
should be denied nuclear technology while India – which has failed to
even join the Non-Proliferation Treaty – is given the same technology on
a silver platter."

"Nuclear power is a high-cost
technology with limited ability to meet the electricity needs of either
India or the United States," continued Flavin. "Nuclear power is a dying
industry, and this latest effort to prop it up with government support
is unlikely to overcome growing resistance by Wall Street investors and
the bond market."

Globally, the nuclear
construction business has been in decline for more than two decades.
Worldwide, nuclear power is growing at an average rate of less than one
percent per year. By contrast, renewable energy – wind, solar, and
biofuels – is on a growth surge, averaging annual expansionrates of
25-35 percent, as President Bush noted enthusiastically in speeches in
Colorado and Michigan last week. Total investment in the world's
renewable energy sector reached $30 billion in 2004, according to the Renewables 2005: Global Status report.

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About the Worldwatch Institute:
Worldwatch is an independent researchorganization based in Washington,
D.C. that works on energy, resource,and environmental issues. The
Institute's State of the World report is published annually in more than
20 languages. For more information,visit www.worldwatch.org.